Increased ploidy is common in tumors but treatments for tumors with excess chromosome sets are not available. Here, we characterize high-ploidy breast cancers and identify potential anticancer compounds selective for the high-ploidy state. Among 354 human breast cancers, 10% have mean chromosome copy number exceeding 3, and this is most common in triple negative and HER2-positive types. Women with high-ploidy breast cancers have higher risk of recurrence and death in two patient cohorts, demonstrating that it represents an important group for improved treatment. Because high-ploidy cancers are aneuploid, rather than triploid or tetraploid, we devised a two-step screen to identify selective compounds. The screen was designed to assure both external validity on diverse karyotypic backgrounds and specificity for high-ploidy cell types. This screen identified novel therapies specific to high-ploidy cells. First, we discovered 8-azaguanine, an antimetabolite that is activated by hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT), suggesting an elevated gene-dosage of HPRT in high-ploidy tumors can control sensitivity to this drug. Second, we discovered a novel compound, 2,3-Diphenylbenzo[g]quinoxaline-5,10-dione (DPBQ). DPBQ activates p53 and triggers apoptosis in a polyploid-specific manner, but does not inhibit topoisomerase or bind DNA. Mechanistic analysis demonstrates that DPBQ elicits a hypoxia gene signature and its effect is replicated, in part, by enhancing oxidative stress. Structure-function analysis defines the core benzo[g]quinoxaline-5,10 dione as being necessary for the polyploid-specific effects of DPBQ. We conclude that polyploid breast cancers represent a high-risk subgroup and that DPBQ provides a functional core to develop polyploid-selective therapy.
Identification of Selective Lead Compounds for Treatment of High-Ploidy Breast Cancer.
Cell line
View SamplesPhosphatidylcholine transfer protein (PC-TP, a.k.a StarD2) is abundantly expressed in liver and is regulated by PPAR. When fed the synthetic PPAR ligand fenofibrate, Pctp-/- mice exhibited altered lipid and glucose homeostasis. Microarray profiling of liver from fenofibrate fed wild type and Pctp-/- mice revealed differential expression of a broad array of metabolic genes, as well as their regulatory transcription factors. Because its expression controlled the transcriptional activities of both PPAR and HNF4 in cell culture, the broader impact of PC-TP on nutrient metabolism is most likely secondary to its role in fatty acid metabolism.
Regulatory role for phosphatidylcholine transfer protein/StarD2 in the metabolic response to peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha).
Sex, Age, Specimen part
View SamplesEwings sarcoma is highly malignant bone tumor that involves childhood and adolescent, and its nature has not been well understood. To clarify its cellular origin and the mechanisms of tumorigenesis, we used ex vivo approach to create a murine model for Ewings sarcoma. The osteochondrogenic progenitors derived from the embryonic superficial zone (eSZ, designated as FZ in the data set) of murine long bones at late gestation were purified by microdissection, introduced with EWS-FLI1 or EWS-ERG retroviruses and transplanted into nude mice. Ewings sarcoma-like small round cell sarcoma developed at 100% penetrance, whereas tumor induction was less effective when growth place (GP)-derived cells were used. The different response of gene expression to EWS-FLI1 between eSZ and GP cells suggests importance of the specific cellular context for EWS-FLI1 to induce Ewings sarcoma. The Wnt/-catenin pathway was involved in close relationship to the cellular context, with Dkk2 and Wipf1 as important downstream modulators. Furthermore, gene expression profiling revealed similarity between our models and human Ewings sarcoma. These results indicate that Ewings sarcoma originates from the embryonic osteochondrogenic progenitor.
Ewing's sarcoma precursors are highly enriched in embryonic osteochondrogenic progenitors.
Specimen part, Time
View SamplesA chromosomal translocation fusion gene product EWS-WT1 is the defining genetic event in Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT), a rare but aggressive tumor with a high rate of mortality. EWS-WT1 oncogene acts as an aberrant transcription factor that drives tumorigenesis, but the mechanism by which EWS-WT1 causes tumorigenesis is not well understood. To delineate the oncogenic mechanisms, we generated the EWS-WT1 fusion in the mouse using a gene targeting (knock-in) approach, enabling physiologic expression of EWS-WT1 under the native Ews promoter. We derived mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and performed genome-wide expression profiling to identify transcripts directly regulated by EWS-WT1. Remarkably, expression of EWS-WT1 led to a dramatic induction of many neuronal genes. Notably, a neural reprogramming factor, ASCL1 (achaete-scute complex-like 1), was highly induced by EWS-WT1 in MEFs and in primary DSRCT. Further analysis demonstrated that EWS-WT1 directly binds to the proximal promoter region of ASCL1 and activates its transcription through multiple WT1-responsive elements. Depletion of EWS-WT1 in a DSRCT cell line resulted in severe reduction in ASCL1 expression and cell viability. Remarkably, when stimulated with neuronal induction media, cells expressing EWS-WT1 expressed neural markers and generated neurite-like projections. These results demonstrate for the first time that EWS-WT1 activates neural gene expression and is capable of directing partial neuronal differentiation, likely via ASCL1. These findings suggest that stimulating DSRCT tumor cells with biological or chemical agents that promote neural differentiation might be a useful approach to develop novel therapeutics against this incurable disease.
EWS-WT1 oncoprotein activates neuronal reprogramming factor ASCL1 and promotes neural differentiation.
Specimen part, Time
View SamplesEwings sarcoma is highly malignant bone tumor that involves childhood and adolescent, and its nature has not been well understood. To clarify its cellular origin and the mechanisms of tumorigenesis, we used ex vivo approach to create a murine model for Ewings sarcoma. The osteochondrogenic progenitors derived from the facial zone (FZ) of murine long bones at late gestation were purified by microdissection, introduced with EWS-FLI1 or EWS-ERG retroviruses and transplanted into nude mice. Ewings sarcoma-like small round cell sarcoma developed at 100% penetrance, whereas tumor induction was less effective when growth place (GP)-derived cells were used. The different response of gene expression to EWS-FLI1 between FZ and GP cells suggests importance of the specific cellular context for EWS-FLI1 to induce Ewings sarcoma. The Wnt/-catenin pathway was involved in close relationship to the cellular context, with Dkk2 and Wipf1 as important downstream modulators. Furthermore, gene expression profiling revealed similarity between our models and human Ewings sarcoma. These results indicate that Ewings sarcoma originates from the embryonic osteochondrogenic progenitor.
Ewing's sarcoma precursors are highly enriched in embryonic osteochondrogenic progenitors.
Specimen part
View SamplesComplete polarization of macrophages towards an M1-like proinflammatory and antimicrobial state requires combined action of IFN-? and LPS. Synergistic activation of canonical inflammatory NF-?B target genes by IFN-? and LPS is well appreciated, but less is known about whether IFN-? negatively regulates components of the LPS response, and how this affects polarization. A combined transcriptomic and epigenomic approach revealed that IFN-? selectively abrogates LPS-induced feedback and select metabolic pathways by suppressing TLR4-mediated activation of gene enhancers. In contrast to superinduction of inflammatory genes via enhancers that harbor IRF sequences and bind STAT1, IFN-?-mediated repression targeted enhancers with STAT sequences that bound STAT3. TLR4-activated IFN-?-suppressed enhancers comprised two subsets distinguished by differential regulation of histone acetylation and recruitment of STAT3, CDK8 and cohesin, and were functionally inactivated by IFN-?. These findings reveal that IFN-? suppresses feedback inhibitory and metabolic components of the TLR response to achieve full M1 polarization, and provide insights into mechanisms by which IFN-? selectively inhibits TLR4-induced transcription. Overall design: RNA-seq analysis of transcriptional changes in human macrophages that were cultured with or without IFN-? and then stimulated with LPS
IFN-γ selectively suppresses a subset of TLR4-activated genes and enhancers to potentiate macrophage activation.
Specimen part, Treatment, Subject
View SamplesALS is a uniformly fatal neurodegenerative disease in which motor neurons in the spinal cord and brain stem are selectively lost. Individual motor - groups of motor neurons innervating single muscles - show widely varying degrees of disease resistance: in the final stages of ALS, nearly all voluntary movement is lost but eye movement and eliminative and sexual functions remain relatively unimpaired. These functions are controlled by motor neurons of the oculomotor (III), trochlear (IV) and abducens (VI) nuclei in the midbrain and brainstem, and by Onufs nucleus in the lumbosacral spinal cord, respectively. Correspondingly, in ALS autopsies the oculomotor and Onufs nuclei are almost completely preserved. We used microarray profiling of isolated wildtype mouse motor neurons to identify genes whose expression was characteristic of both oculomotor and Onufs nuclei but not of vulnerable lumbar spinal neurons, or vice versa.
Neuronal matrix metalloproteinase-9 is a determinant of selective neurodegeneration.
Sex, Specimen part
View SamplesWe report how the zebrafish melanoma cell line ZMEL1 changes after 4 month exposure to the BRAF inhibitor PLX4032 (1uM) Overall design: Examination of ZMEL1 vs. ZMELR1 cells growing in vitro
Melanoma genome evolution across species.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesHuman type 1 diabetes (T1D) arises through autoimmunity towards the insulin-producing pancreatic cells and is modeled by the BioBreeding (BB) rat. Factors associated with islet autoimmunity are dilute and difficult to directly measure in the periphery. Therefore, we previously utilized microarray-based bioassay where human T1D sera were used to induce a disease-specific gene expression signature in unrelated, healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
Identification of a serum-induced transcriptional signature associated with type 1 diabetes in the BioBreeding rat.
No sample metadata fields
View SamplesCD4+T cells are differentiated into Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells after Antigen presentation by other cell types such as dendritic cells, macrophages and B cells in Lymph nodes. Those differentiated CD4+T cells are subdivided into cell subsets by their producing cytokines and surface markers. We recently identified that ST2 expressing Th2 cells highly produced IL-5 comparing to ST2- Th2 cells in helminth infection. In this study, we investigated the RNAseq analysis to characterize these Th2 cells. Overall design: Characterization of ST2+ and ST2- mTh cells are assessed by RNA-seq.
CXCR6<sup>+</sup>ST2<sup>+</sup> memory T helper 2 cells induced the expression of major basic protein in eosinophils to reduce the fecundity of helminth.
Specimen part, Cell line, Subject
View Samples